Film Review: The Departed
The Departed, a film from director Martin Scorsese, has received unanimous praise since its release. Critics raved about how The Departed was the best movie of the 2006. The awards were there, but the movie is not nearly as good as the reviews would have you believe.
The Departed is a crime drama that explores a very complex storyline involving both the cops and the felons. Scorsese does an excellent job of telling a very deep and intricate plot in an easy to follow way. The story is simply amazing in both its content and presentation. It is enhanced even further by layers upon layers of dramatic irony, as well as its emotional and moral substance. The narrative is certainly the strongest piece of The Departed. When I compare it to recent releases like American Gangster, I appreciate it even more.
The characters are really brought to life by great acting. DiCaprio stands out with a simply brilliant performance, and Nicholson, a man I usually hate, is likewise impressive. The acting in the movie is spot-on, and it just adds to the positives of this movie; just be prepared for an excess of four-letter words and pools of blood along the way.
Of course, it isn’t all positive. The ending of the film boggles my mind: Scorsese crafts a near-perfect movie up until the last twenty minutes, at which point everything is ruined. I can appreciate it for its Shakespearian flavor, but it was the least satisfying and cohesive end possible. Honestly, the ending is so poor that it dramatically detracts from the score I would have given this movie. It was hovering around the 9 range, but that is all for not after the credits have been reached.
Scorsese made a great film, but disappointed with the ending, which detracts from the whole experience. Did this stop him from receiving awards? No. Could The Departed have reached classic status with a better ending? Yes.
7/10
4 Comments
I had a problem with this the first time around…What is wrong with the ending? Though I feel bad, I think it was an excellent ending. It is unreal that the ending alone drops the score from a 9/10 to a 7/10.
The ending was so poor that it ruined everything else that had been built up. The characters were so well-developed, yet the finale short-changed all that progress. I left the theater upset and disappointed rather than satisfied.
I do understand that my opinion on the film is not the common one though.
I agree with Jbomb on this one. The movie was solid until the pathetic surprise ending that was unnecessary and did not make sense in the context of the movie. Good guys die, bad guys die, and people who don’t really matter die. It almost seems like Scorsese wanted to keep his movie under a certain time limit, and when it looked like he was running short, bam, ended the movie. Poor choice of an ending, and again, surprisingly, I agree with Jbomb that this movie could have gotten higher with a better ending.
You guys are idiots. We’ll talk about this in person so I don’t spoil the movie for any potential viewers.
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